Chapter 10: Ch.10: Look On The Brightside

“Ah! No!” the woman on the TV screamed. 

Tatiana sat upright on the couch with her feet on the coffee table. Tea had one hand on a mug of tea and her other hand on Dante’s hip. Her wife’s head used her thigh as a pillow as they watched the ‘worst horror movie of the year’. 

“Doesn’t the monster ‘see’ through sound?” Dante asked.

The character’s last words before being impaled by a spear-like tongue were, “Get away from me! No! Aggghhh!”

“Yep,” Tea answered, watching a gallon of tomato juice and ketchup spew out in place of ‘blood’.

Dante snagged popcorn from the bag as the monster continued its hunt for other scantily clad 20-year-olds. The grain of the film made it a little harder to tell if the bugs on the trees in the foreground were just blips from poor rendering. The wavering sound mixing definitely helped the argument for the latter. Especially since the off-screen character’s heavy breathing was drowned out by the background music. 

“Look at this ugly bastard,” Dante mocked.

“The monster or the guy?” Tea joked as the greasy-haired jock character who left his girlfriend to die not one minute earlier came into frame.  

“The one that waddles when it walks.” Dante took another piece of popcorn. 

The bow-legged jock made a break for the nearby shack. Huffing and tripping over a mudhole as he did. The ‘sound-based’ monster took a full minute to hear the man grunt in pain as he opened the already half-broken door. 

Plainly, “So both of them.”

Dante scoffed, “Not often you see an arrow chasing a bow.”

Tatiana rubbed her wife’s side. This, as planned, got a much bigger smile from the professor after the pun. Like a cat, Dante nuzzled just a little closer to the person petting her. So, Tatiana kept it going. 

“What’s the plan for the walking cartoon character?”

“I’ve got all I want right here.” She patted Tea’s leg. “I’ll use my wishes when there’s an earthquake. Right now, I need to make sure that kid knows not to make any tornados in California.”

Tatiana nodded in agreement. A subtle ‘hmm’ came with it. The answer was good enough for her. Mostly due to the person giving it. 

Curious, “…So when are you gonna wish we go to Hawaii?”

The obvious answer was, “Uh, Summer.”

Both chuckled. Another moment, and their fingers interlaced. There was no dialogue. No music, not even from the movie. Just a few silent seconds in a dark room. 

“How long before the monster kills this idiot?” Tatiana asked. 

“I give it four minutes.” Dante speculated, “Two minutes minimum.” She ate another piece of popcorn, “this movie’s pacing is on par with-” 

Before she could finish, the wall shattered as the monster made its kill. The man, currently being stabbed in the chest, let out a scream that could easily be confused for a ten-year-old girl. The actor topped off his character’s death by making his eyes bug out. This made the two women laugh hysterically. Dante gripped Tatiana’s jeans as Tatiana clapped between inhales. 

They howled and cackled for so long that by the time they started to calm down, the credits had been rolling for a full minute. Neither woman cared. They had more interest in the bag of popcorn that spilled on the floor. 

“I got it,” Dante offered. 

Tatiana felt a little bummed as her wife left her side. But she got a nice view of her wife as a consolation. 

“You and those damn suit pants.” Tea quipped, “God, I love ‘em. Even more when they’re off.”

Dante was halfway done picking up the food, “Oh, shut it. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Tatiana then picked her wife up with ease, spawning a quick yell out of the scholar. Carrying Dante bridal style, Tatiana kissed her neck continuing the laughs. As their eyes met once more, Tatiana was the first to flirt. 

With arrogance, “Are you sure about that, professor?”

With love, “Just take me upstairs already, you dork.”   

-Morning-

Right as the sun rose and peeked through the blinds, Dante stirred at a sizzling sound. The distant frying from a skillet. Possibly sausage from the alluring smell.

“Babe?” Dante then looked over at her wife. Her smiling, snoring, satisfied wife. “Oh right,” she smirked.

Dante gingerly left the bed, making sure Tatiana kept snuggling the pillow. With her spouse distracted, she went to investigate. Deep down, she knew who it was, but just wanted to say good morning.

A few steps down some stairs and a turn around a corner, and there stood Dante’s ‘student’. A five-foot-tall, brown-haired genie wearing sparkling dhoti pants and her original pink vest. She was cooking, as expected, sausages in a golden skillet. The only thing missing was her smile.

“Jiji?” Dante called. 

Jiji didn’t look up. She didn’t even fix her hunched posture. She just kept cooking.

You are reading story Jiji Jinn The Genie at novel35.com

“Morning Professor Dante.” Jiji said, “Breakfast will be ready in just a minute.” 

“You don’t have to make me breakfast.” Dante entered the kitchen, “Are you ok?” 

Jiji turned the stove off and started to plate the meat. A regular white plate that Dante had purchased years before. 

“Did you want eggs too?” 

Dante rested her hands on her hips. Her stare unwavered whereas Jiji couldn’t bring her head up. The moment of silence couldn’t have ended sooner for either woman. 

“You don’t have to tell me what happened. But at least tell me if-”

“You were right,” Jiji admitted. She began rubbing her arm as Dante took the plate. It was set to the side and Jiji was given undivided attention.

“Jazz, well, she ditched me.”

“She did what!?” Dante exclaimed, “Wait, so you walked home!?”

“No,” Jinn responded with a muddled tone, “I...teleported. Like, I snapped my fingers. Like I always do. Professor, were you drinking last night?”

Slightly embarrassed, “No, sorry. That was a stupid question.” 

Dante led her friend to sit on the counter. She joined her, rubbing the girl’s back as she explained. 

“Look, kid, I wanted to be wrong about Jazz. But, more importantly, I’m sorry you had to deal with that. The best thing you can do is learn from this, and look at the silver lining.”

“I guess,” Jiji muttered.

Jiji didn’t pick her eyes up. They stayed on the tiles and she had no comments. Her feet didn’t kick and her hands stayed on her lap. Dante couldn’t see the woman’s face under her hair.

Dante knew she had to break through.

“So, what did you enjoy last night?”

Jiji tilted her head up just a little, “Well, I saw a movie that was really good.” She cranked up just enough for Dante to see her nose. “Actually, I saw a movie for the first time in my life! Plus, I got to ride in a car! Like, an actual car! Not the video game cars I did with Tatiana with the shells as weapons and pretty princesses in racing suits.”

Dante ignored her confusion, “Ok, good, what else?”   

“Well,” Jiji continued. Her head lifted with each point. “I got to see Marilyn again, and she offered to take me home. So she’s a nice person. I got to drink soda! Which apparently are called ‘fountain drinks’ even though they're from machines and not a fountain. Like, there’s syrup in a bag in a box that goes through a tiny hose and that turns it into a soda.”

“You’re rambling.” 

“Oh right!” Jiji was smiling brightly and her hands were in fists at this point. “I got a new outfit! No, two new outfits! Plus, I got to see the actual night sky instead of an illustration! And I kept my powers a secret from everyone! They just thought I was timid! You know what?”

The girl leaped from the counter. She pumped her arms and chanted with all the passion of a cheerleader. Jiji even grabbed pom-poms from a shelf filled with forks. 

“Yesterday was awesome~! Yesterday was awesome~! I don’t need Jazz~! Cause yesterday was awesome~!”

Tatiana, partially awake and partially annoyed, was now on the last step. 

“I’m assuming our little girl got laid last night?”

“Nope!” Jiji carelessly tossed the pom-poms away. In one hand was her phone and in the other was a pocket-sized calendar. “But if this Marilyn is available tomorrow,”

“Uh sweetie,” Dante stopped her. “Try taking things a little slower.”

“Oh right! I can’t trust everyone. Lesson learned. Got it!” Jiji then asked, “Should I ask out a guy instead?”

Dante pinched the bridge of her nose. Tatiana spotted her breakfast.

“I think the three of us should stay home today,” Dante suggested.

“You’ve got a staff meeting at 1,” Tatiana said. 

“…Ok kid, you wanna stay at the house with Tea or,”

“Explore the campus some more!” Jiji shouted. She quickly lowered her voice, “Uh, please.”

At least she was learning. 

End

You can find story with these keywords: Jiji Jinn The Genie, Read Jiji Jinn The Genie, Jiji Jinn The Genie novel, Jiji Jinn The Genie book, Jiji Jinn The Genie story, Jiji Jinn The Genie full, Jiji Jinn The Genie Latest Chapter